Category: Cambridgeshire County Council

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Have your say on plans for the future of local councils Communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are being given an opportunity to have their say in shaping the future of local government.    It follows a national government requirement to replace current district, county and city councils with single-tier councils.   Three proposed options for reorganisation were shared earlier this month. Council leaders now want to hear the views of residents, businesses and local stakeholders, like town and parish councils and community groups, to inform the development of these proposals.    An engagement survey has launched so people can share their thoughts on what priorities they think new unitary authorities should have and what is important to them when it comes to local government.    You can take part in the survey online. Hard copies will also be available in all libraries. Share your views before midnight on Sunday 20 July 2025.

Quality of Life survey Our third annual countywide survey has launched to understand and track the views of residents across Cambridgeshire.   This year’s survey seeks the feedback of 5,500 residents, which will give councillors and decision makers vital insight when they make business planning decisions.    There is an opportunity for everyone to take part if they want to, with the survey available via the county council’s website until Monday 21 July.

Cambridgeshire County Council celebrates win at LGC Awards

Cambridgeshire County Council is celebrating success after winning at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards. The county council won the award in the Community Involvement category, recognising the work of both the Fenland Youth Work Network and Fenland Youth Tribe in supporting young people aged 11 to 18 at risk of serious violence, exploitation and involvement in county lines.

Get Activated this summer

Local organisations are teaming up to offer free and low-cost activities all over the county.  Look out for #GetActivated over the coming weeks for fun and healthy activities run by Cambridgeshire County Council, district councils and their partners to keep families busy this summer.

Bookings open for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Bookings are now open for our summer Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme. Running from Thursday 24 July to Thursday 29 August, the programme offers 64 hours of free fun activities for eligible children throughout the summer holidays. Summer eligibility codes were issued to parents on Monday 9 June by email and text.

Highways and transport

Be an information champion about highways work in your area

Have you ever wanted to find out what highways work is taking place in your area, and how long the work will take?    Well now you can. Our website has details of planned capital maintenance work on the public highways across Cambridgeshire. Capital maintenance work tends to be high-value, long-term major projects. It includes structural road maintenance, road treatments, footway maintenance, drain projects, repairs to bridges, upgrading traffic lights, maintaining public rights of way, upgrading signs and road markings, and grass cutting.    You can sort the information by type of work, by district, and see delivery dates and working hours. The information is updated regularly to keep it accurate. A lot is weather dependent, so bear in mind dates can change at short notice.     We are making the biggest investment in highways maintenance for over a decade. So it is more important than ever that communities are aware of the work taking place and how their money is being spent.

Make a difference and have a say about highways and transport

Cambridgeshire residents are being asked for their views on Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways and transport services – from the condition of roads and footpaths to public transport and the quality of cycling facilities – in this year’s annual National Highways and Transport (NHT) Public Satisfaction survey.   A questionnaire is being sent to a minimum random sample of at least 3,300 Cambridgeshire residents – with local and national results to be published in late-October 2025. The county council uses the questionnaire results to evaluate how well we are currently providing services, and to help us decide what to prioritise.    Please encourage anyone in your community who receives a questionnaire to respond and take part.

Care Together

Keeping local people at the heart of everything we do, the Care Together team at Cambridgeshire County Council work with communities and partners to design and develop local services that enable older adults to remain independent and at home for as long as possible.   This includes a wide range of options to keep people socially and physically active in their communities and a variety of events and activities funded by the Care Together 2025-26 seed funding.

Communities Service

New sustainable trim trail installed at Dry Drayton school

The aging timber trim trail at Dry Drayton C.E Primary School has been replaced with a sustainable long-lasting alternative – 100% recycled plastic from domestic waste collections.    As a relatively small village, Dry Drayton doesn’t have a dedicated green space or traditional playground, so for many years the school has made the field and the trim trail available to the whole community outside of school hours.    Thanks to a grant from the county council, the new trim trail will benefit not only the schoolchildren, the on-site pre-school and after-school clubs, but also the wider village and visitors.    The school children helped teachers to choose play equipment that would appeal to, and provide opportunities for, children of all ages.

Creating cohesion in new communities

Following the successful New Communities Conference held last year, this half day session will focus on community cohesion in new communities. If you live or work in one of Cambridgeshire’s new communities, be a part of the conversation and hear from others with lived experience of moving into a new community.    The event will take place on Saturday 19 July from 9am to 1pm at Northstowe Secondary College.    Armed Forces Covenant supports event at Bassingbourn Barracks At the beginning of June, serving troops at the Mission Ready Training Centre (MRTC), Bassingbourn welcomed veterans to the Warrant Officer’s and Sergeant’s Mess for a breakfast and tour of the facility.    Jointly funded by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Armed Forces Covenant Partnership and South Cambridgeshire District Council, the event coincided with the 81st anniversary of D-Day and provided opportunities for local veterans to engage with troops stationed at Bassingbourn Barracks, forge new friendships and reminisce about their own time in service.

Waste and recycling

Recycle batteries responsibly to prevent fires We support the national Take Charge campaign to tackle the growing number of fires cause by carelessly discarded dead batteries, known as ‘zombie batteries’.    When thrown away with other waste and recycling, they are likely to be crushed or punctured during waste collection and processing. Some battery types can ignite or even explode when they are damaged. Once this happens, the batteries can quickly set fire to other materials present in the waste, such as paper, leading to serious incidents.    Batteries should always be recycled separately from other waste material. But all battery types can be recycled for free at locations across Cambridgeshire, including Household Recycling Centres, supermarkets and DIY stores. Options for recycling batteries can be found on the Take Charge website, and you can also use their postcode finder to find battery recycling points near where you live.

Cambridgeshire Libraries

Support to get online

Libraries across Cambridgeshire offer a variety of free resources to help improve your digital skills.    From access to free CambWifi and public computers to expert support from a Digital Buddy, there are plenty of ways to get online and boost digital confidence. You can also explore Learn My Ways courses, designed to help individuals at all levels improve their digital skills.    Find out more about the full range of digital support and digital inclusion services available at your local library on the Cambridgeshire Libraries webpage.

New collection of books and resources to support family wellbeing Cambridgeshire Libraries is now offering Reading Well for Families – a supportive collection of books and digital resources designed to help families thrive from pregnancy through early parenting.   Topics include becoming a family, wellbeing, perinatal mental health, anxiety, postnatal depression, and coping with loss such as miscarriage or baby loss.    The collection features practical guides, personal stories, and poetry, with inclusive support for all families – including dads, solo parents, autistic and LGBTQ+ parents, or those expecting multiples. All titles are recommended by health professionals and people with lived experience.    Library membership is free, and materials are available in branches and online.

Children in receipt of income-related free school meals can access a fully funded place at a HAF holiday scheme for 64 hours. Recently arrived refugee families and families struggling financially are also eligible. Further information can be found here Cambridgeshire Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme | Cambridgeshire County Council and here HAF Provider Directory | Cambridgeshire County Council

Children in receipt of income-related free school meals can access a fully funded place at a participating holiday scheme for 16 hours. Recently arrived refugee families and families struggling financially are also eligible.

Further information can be found here Cambridgeshire Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme | Cambridgeshire County Council and here HAF Provider Directory | Cambridgeshire County Council

Please see above for information on the HAF Christmas Holiday Scheme Places.

For more information go to www.cambridge.gov.uk/haf or email HAF@cambridge.gov.uk

Cambridgeshire County Council working in collaboration with other colleagues and Youth partners have created a survey for Young People aged 11-19.

Please see the attached information and flyer for the survey. The survey is now open now and ready to collect responses from the young people in South Cambs. It closes on the 25^th October 2024.

Please encourage those aged between 11 and 19 to complete the survey so they can hear from as many young people as possible.

Communities Service

Cambridgeshire County Council

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Welcome to Cambridgeshire Matters – July 2024 Cambridgeshire Matters is our monthly newsletter which aims to share good news, highlights and updates from across Cambridgeshire to help our network of district, city and community members stay informed.   Find out about the great work that is taking place to support everyone in the county. Share this newsletter with your communities and feel welcome to use any of the features in your own newsletter or on social media.

Cambridgeshire welcomes new and returning Members of Parliament (MPs)

As a result of the General Election, Cambridgeshire now has five new MPs representing constituencies across Cambridgeshire. There are also two returning MPs.   MPs can help with issues that are the responsibility of the UK Parliament. But often the right person to contact will be a local councillor (either county, district, town or parish), Citizens Advice, or an Ombudsman.    Information and guidance on who you should contact with your issue is available on the UK Parliament website.

County’s kerbside war on weeds now underway

The county’s chemical weed treatment programme is in full swing as more than 440km of kerbside weeds have been treated already in just a few weeks – the equivalent distance of just under 5,000 football pitches – and will cover 243 parish areas in total.   The programme began in June and is expected to finish in August. A second treatment will take place in October.

Chemical weed treatment is applied directly to weeds in the kerb line of our roads and footways. It will typically take about three to five weeks for the treatment to take effect – after this, road sweepers will come along to remove dead weeds.    For more information on our weed treatment programme, visit our website

Families can ‘Get Activated’ this summer

Families across Cambridgeshire are in for a treat this summer with the launch of Get Activated, the countywide summer activity campaign.   There are hundreds of free and low-cost activities for families with children under the age of 13, run by the county and district councils and their partners, including many options for play, cycling, walking, sports and activities to keep families busy, entertained and having fun.

These include: the Cambridgeshire Libraries Summer Reading Challenge, the Cambridgeshire Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, and a range of activities hosted at the council’s Child and Family Centres, with sessions focusing on the ‘50 Things to Do Before You’re Five‘ app. As part of the campaign, this year will also feature ‘Get Activated on Tour’, where the council will spotlight activities in each district – so be sure to follow our social media to keep up to date.   By championing affordable outdoor family activities that encourage active travel, physical activity and wellbeing in various local settings and communities, the campaign significantly contributes to Cambridgeshire County Council’s vision of creating a greener, fairer and more caring county for our children and young people.

Have your say on active travel in Cambridgeshire

We look after a highways network comprising of 4,500km of roads, 2,936km of footways, more than 550km of designated cycleways, and more than 3,000km of public rights of way.   One of Cambridgeshire County Council’s key ambitions is making “travel across the county safer and more environmentally sustainable”. As part of this, we’re committed to supporting and encouraging more active travel.

Active travel means making a journey in a physical or active way, such as walking and wheeling – which includes cycling, scootering, roller skating, or using a wheelchair or mobility aid. It could also mean riding a horse.   We’re looking at how our footpaths, highways and public rights of way (PROW) networks could be prioritised for management and maintenance going forward. We have therefore launched an eight-week consultation (closing on Monday 16 September 2024), asking the public how they would prioritise the maintenance of our roads and pathways.    By using the interactive maps, you will be able to give location-specific feedback which we can then analyse and consider for integration into the Active Travel Hierarchy report.

Celebrating 60 years of Mobile Libraries in Cambridgeshire

This month, Cambridgeshire’s mobile libraries celebrated 60 years of service, delivering books and much more to both rural and urban communities across the county.    The first ever recorded mobile library stop in Cambridgeshire was Longstanton. The nearest postcode and current stop in Northstowe is now one of the service’s most popular stops and was a fitting place to hold the celebration, which was attended by local residents, councillors, and members of the library service both past and present.

60 years on, our mobile libraries visit more than 400 locations in the county each month with each library carrying more than 3,000 items of stock – from books and magazines, to stamps, reading glasses, and even hearing aid batteries.

Are you interested in the benefits of community energy?

Cambridgeshire County Council is keen to hear your views on community energy and what we need to do to support local people to contribute to our county wide aims for a Net Zero Cambridgeshire by 2045.   Community energy in the UK comprises of 206 MW of solar, 113 MW of wind, 12 MW of hydroelectric and 4.7 MW of heat generation capacity with most projects being rooftop solar technology.    The project build costs can be funded from grants, community share offers, bonds and/or loans. To secure investment, projects need to be able to generate a return, typically around 5%. Projects generate the revenue to cover operating costs and sell electricity to the grid through Power Purchase Agreements. Surplus income is often invested in other projects to benefit the community.    Is this something your local community is interested in? If so, please review our ideas and let us know how we can help you and your ambitions by sharing your feedback as we develop our offer to communities.    The deadline for completing the survey is Monday 16 September 2024.

Inspire ‘Marvellous Makers’ with the Summer Reading Challenge

This summer children across Cambridgeshire can get crafty by signing up to the Summer Reading challenge.    The theme of ‘Marvellous Makers’ aims to fire up children’s imaginations and unleash storytelling and creativity through the power of reading. The challenge is free to take part in and is open to pre-school and primary school aged children of all reading abilities.

Children can sign up now at their local (or mobile) library and have until Saturday 14 September to complete the challenge.    To celebrate this year’s challenge, creative and craft-based activities and events will be taking place across Cambridgeshire’s libraries throughout the summer – find out what’s happening at your nearest library here.

Dementia-friendly resources and monthly social groups at Cambridgeshire libraries

Cambridgeshire Libraries have resources to support people living with dementia, their families, friends, and carers.   If you are a library member, you can borrow these resources on your library card. It is easy to join the library online or at any one of our libraries.

Resources include memory boxes to facilitate reminiscence activities, dementia-friendly jigsaw puzzles and games, as well as picture books and the ‘Reading Well for Dementia’ book list.   Some of our libraries also host monthly Dementia Social Groups where attendees can take part in activities – search our online directory to find our more.

Further updates from around Cambridgeshire

Find below an additional range of news, highlights and updates from around the county this month: Shire Hall in Cambridge set for a luxury future Help for families continues throughout the summer holidays New £3.9m March recycling centre agreed

Updates from the Communities Service

Welcome to the Traveller Health team This month the Communities Service welcomed the Traveller Health team, who have moved to the service from Public Health.   The small, well-established and highly respected Traveller Health team work with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities across Cambridgeshire to support with all areas of health and wellbeing.   The team hold weekly drop-in sessions in the following venues: Monday – Oasis Centre, Wisbech (booked by appointment) Wednesday – All Saints Church Hall, Cottenham For more information about the team and their work, please email traveller.healthteam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Cricket club aims for Net Zero With the aim of becoming the region’s first Net Zero sports club/community centre, Eaton Scoon Cricket Club have made great strides to achieve this, after being awarded £35,335 from the Cambridgeshire Capital Priorities Fund.   The cricket club is the first of the 26 funded projects to complete, having completed the installation of their solar panel system last month. They anticipate that 66% of the club’s electricity will be supplied by the solar panels.

Updates from Care Together

We have been busy enhancing the landscape of care by developing over 40 Care Micro Enterprises (CMEs) across Cambridgeshire.   CMEs are local people we are helping to set up their own small businesses. They provide their neighbours with personalised care and support, as well as other services that maintain independence at home.    Click the link below to learn more about our CME development across the county, including increasing the offer of personalised care and support, with more choice and control for clients.    For more information on CMEs, visit our website or contact one of our CME Development Officers by emailing cmedevelopment@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or calling 01223 706100.    You can see a list of CMEs in our Care Micro Enterprise Directory.

Let us know your thoughts after reading Cambridgeshire Matters so we can ensure our newsletter works for you. Please email internal.comms@cambridgeshire.gov.uk with your views.

Our area is one of the most nature depleted in England and your response to the surveys below will help develop a strategy to help our county to become a world-class environment where both nature and people can thrive. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) will set priorities for nature recovery across England.  Your input will help to identify existing habitats and species which are important to conserve, as well as opportunities to increase biodiversity and create a landscape more resilient to climate change and other environmental pressures.

Whether you are an individual that cares about nature in your local area or you are a local group or organisation that has an interest in nature recovery, we would like to hear your thoughts and ideas to help shape nature recovery in our county.

LNRS survey for individuals – https://forms.office.com/e/gz7th9AkkE

LNRS survey for local groups and organisations – https://forms.office.com/e/2ddKrVgDMV

Please visit the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LNRS website for further information and sign up to their newsletter for more regular updates.

Please note the deadline for responses is Friday 5^th April.

Please see attached Order for your information. This Order has been approved and will come into operation on 08/04/24. All necessary legal procedures have been attended to by ourselves, and the emergency services are copied in to this email.

Please note, the signing schedule has not been checked in detail. The signage of the closure must be in accordance with the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 8 and must comply with the Safety at Roadworks and Street Works Code of Practice.  Adequate signing of the alternative route is entirely the responsibility of the applicant. The applicant MUST place Advanced Warning Signs at each end of the highway to be closed at least 14 days prior to the closure informing the travelling public of the start and end dates of the closure.

Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council’s joint public health team is inviting residents to have their say on how new and existing communities can be healthy, supportive and inclusive.

Work is currently underway to develop the Healthy Places Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, a piece of work which will support the development of healthier, easy to access, and inclusive communities. To inform this, the team has launched a survey asking for views on access to healthcare services, inclusive and accessible green spaces, opportunities for active travel and healthy play and leisure, and the provision of affordable healthy food options.

The survey is open until Monday 15 April at 5pm and can be found at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WNC1CB/. It will take around 10-15 minutes to fill in and may be completed on behalf of yourself or someone you care for.

If you’d prefer to complete a paper copy of the survey, you can pick one up from your local library or New Shire Hall, Emery Crescent, Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon PE28 4YE.

If you have any questions about the survey or the Healthy Places Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, please email healthinallpolicies@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

You may be aware of the recent outbreak of measles in parts of the country, and that on 19 January the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared a national incident over the rising number of cases.   Locally, staff in Public Health are working hard to raise awareness and to encourage vaccination across all ages, and are really keen to reach community organisations to both raise awareness, and promote the additional clinics being held across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.  If you’d like more information you may find this link helpful Measles | CPICS Website .    Please also view the following links: Cases of #Measles are rising in… – Cambridgeshire County Council | Facebook   Cases of #Measles are rising in… – Cambridgeshire County Council | Facebook Cases of measles are continuing to… – Cambridgeshire County Council | Facebook

Cambridgeshire County Council together with Peterborough City Council have launched the Steady on your Feet interactive falls self-assessment tool to help older adults understand their risk of falling and the simple steps they can take to stay active and independent. The new tool is primarily aimed at those who haven’t previously had a fall but it is also aimed at people who have experienced a fall but have declined a referral for a multi-factorial falls risk assessment.

Please click on the link above or on the poster link below.

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